


netflix and the chilling art of ghost cuddling

by lukepattersons



Series: we were something, don't you think so? [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, PALINA, juke, willex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:07:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27840466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukepattersons/pseuds/lukepattersons
Summary: because even ghosts deserve to cuddle and bingewatch!
Relationships: Alex & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: we were something, don't you think so? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105520
Comments: 5
Kudos: 135





	netflix and the chilling art of ghost cuddling

**Author's Note:**

> this was a tiny one shot inspired by a very pretty piece of fanwork created by @allarica on instagram of our favorite band cuddling in bed (I'm not sure how to link the photo on here because I am baby, but if anyone knows how to and can help I am rdy). 
> 
> let me know if you guys like this kind of fluff bc I have more in store. 
> 
> thank u :-)

“I can’t do this anymore.” 

Julie Molina’s neck was bent to an inhuman angle. She had been laying in between Luke and Reggie, at the top of her bed, for over four hours. 

It was during times like these that she remembered her mom most clearly: she had always been the one to bug Julie about the lack of headboard where her bedroom furniture was concerned. She had been particularly vocal about Julie’s request—back when they were remodeling the house—for an extra wide window sill, so she could house her smaller plants where sunlight was most abundant. 

Julie knew her strong personality came off as petulance sometimes, and she was sure her mom had thought as much when she insisted that she direct her incessant nagging over to her tio Joaquin, when time came to finish the trimming for her room. Although Julie’s ego was well fed when her uncle adhered to her specifications, she was faintly aware that the pain she currently felt could very well be, in some form or another, her mother coming to collect for having been right all those years back and still swallowing all of her child’s dissent. 

So, yeah. Julie’s plants were hydrated and healthy, and had a lovely sunlit home above her sea of pillows—but her neck was absolutely destroyed. No amount of cushioning could do away with the protruding casing of the massive window behind her bed. 

The entire situation was weird, too. The boys were still ghosts in that they were still invisible to others aside from when they were on stage with Julie, but they had since gained the ability to become corporeal; so she could see them, and feel them, and hug them. And while their current reality was optimal for Julie’s sanity—being able to smack Reggie now and again had proven itself a hidden blessing—the air around them hung heavy with dread. 

If they were still invisible to others, they still had unfinished business to tend to. And it was hard to think about that part; that every happy moment with them, every performance, was really just another step taking them closer to crossing over. Julie suspected that there wasn’t much personal choice involved in fulfilling the very purpose of one’s afterlife, and that the boys would probably disappear off to wherever it was that her mom went, becoming ultimately separated from her. That thought alone filled her with an overwhelming sense of urgency, a need to exhaust absolutely every last shred of creativity among the four of them, before they were gone from her completely.

For this reason it was more than a little nerve wracking that they chose to remain nestled atop Julie’s full mattress, all sprawled in an asynchronous pile, nearing the tail end of _Return of the Jedi_ , and readying for their first viewing of _The Phantom Menace_ —they would do _Star Wars_ in release order, of course, because it was very important to Reggie to experience these movies like everybody else. She only felt a little traitorous in wishing they could be writing, or at least doing something to help their doomed situation. 

Not to mention it was getting a little warm in the room, too. She wanted her fuzzy socks off so badly, but knew cuddling etiquette couldn’t possibly encompass that possibility. A little antsy, Julie shifted down slightly, so that her head would rest on a pillow edged in between herself and Luke’s chest, instead of continuing propped against the hardwood of her window sill. That caused a stir in Reggie, to her left, whose hand had become entwined with hers halfway through the first film due to equal parts sheepish excitement and a need to feel ‘human warmth’— his words. 

“Seriously, Julie, hang in there. This is 25 years in the making.” 

Reggie’s grip on her hand tightened slightly. From the floor cushions to the right of her bed, Julie could hear an amused laugh escape Alex. She considered the risks of peering over Luke’s mountainous arms to where her blondest friend resided, last she saw he was still all luscious pale hair and pink sweatshirts; but that felt too intrusive now. At some point in the night Julie suspected Willie had joined them. She had heard some rustling, had noticed a certain look exchanged between Luke and Reggie, and then again between the two and Alex; but it was only when they started waving to a spot in the room that looked totally empty to her that her suspicions were confirmed. 

She knew now how Flynn must feel around the boys. Sort of. The band, at least, materialized on stage. Willie was still entirely elusive to Julie. 

Once, after the ordeal with Caleb had settled and they had been able to reconnect, she had asked Luke to describe him to her, but all he had said was “he skates,” and that she would “totally know the type.” Completely useless. Since then she had been able to compile some additional information from the boys that allowed a more conclusive picture to form in her head—Willie wore cool cropped tees which Reggie was envious of, was all sharp angles, golden skin and cascading black hair (that one came from Alex), and he giggled, _a lot_. It was all very endearing, if not for the fact that every time Willie came around Julie felt a tiny pang of resentment for the fact that the boys had almost been taken from her because of Alex’s involvement with him. She was working hard to do away with those feelings, because Willie made Alex happy, but not being able to address it directly, because she couldn’t see or hear him, made the situation all the more difficult. It made her feel a little vulnerable, too, to be seen but not be able to see him. 

But that was just where things were right now, and she had to deal with it. 

“Fine,” she grumbled, shifting her weight slightly.

Two seconds later she felt a solid thump against her head. 

Startled, Julie looked toward the direction it came from, only to be faced with an open-mouthed Luke, seemingly significantly less interested in the _Star Wars_ universe and suddenly very obviously asleep. He could do that now? Sleep? The rules of their existence were both unclear and inconsistent to Julie. She turned toward Luke a little more, making sure not to disturb Reggie’s grasp on her left hand, and took a short moment of her time to study the stillness of his features. Stoic brows, shaggy brown hair, perfectly curved lips. If he were drooling a little she would have to overlook it. He had shifted to match her earlier movements, and his right hand had fallen from where it rested behind his head, directly dropping onto Julie’s. They were in an impossible position now, and the slightest maneuver from Julie only served to nestle his fingers further into her hair. She was effectively being cupped by his right arm; her chin gently nudged in the space between his right bicep and forearm. She was pretty close to nuzzling the inner part of his elbow, and it felt _really weird_ , but also sort of nice. After they played the Orpheum, she had been sure the boys were lost to her forever. Finding them in her garage, somehow nourishing their livelihoods, was nothing short of a miracle. Since then she vowed to relish in any form of touch she could get from them. From Luke. Any way to connect with him and to legitimize his role in her life felt very valid and very important, so she let herself freeze in that position. 

And while to Julie this whole movie marathon idea had originally felt like a waste of their time and resources, the scene unfolding in her bedroom made it much easier to understand the necessity behind this moment of serenity shared between herself and the boys, especially for them. Her boys—who loved music so much they came back to life. If being a present and willing fountain of warmth and friendship for them was what they needed, and if doing so landed her in Luke’s arms every now and again, she could hardly take issue with it.


End file.
